


Salve Regina

by CoffeeDrip



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bottom Dean, Domestic, F/M, Fake Marriage, Human Castiel, Jealousy, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Parenthood, Pining, Rimming, Top Castiel, Unplanned Pregnancy, dcbb15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 14:50:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5209982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeDrip/pseuds/CoffeeDrip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The angels fell, and Cas immediately disappeared into life as Steve the GasNSip attendant. When Dean stumbles across the fallen angel on a hunt he finds the other man unwilling to leave with him, and expecting a child. But domestic bliss won’t come easy for the former warrior of God, and Dean inevitably finds himself caught up in the maelstrom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! I can't say how amazing it is to finally share this fic with you all. It's been a long, long labor of love. It has had multiple iterations, and finally became this. 
> 
> Please check out my amazing artist origamioctopus on Tumblr, and stop by and pay me a visit as well! I'm ABCofDee.

 

* * *

 

 

“Cas?”

Dean stopped short as he walked into the Gas’n’Sip, staring in shock at the clerk standing behind the counter, wearing a blue vest and the face of a man he had never expected to see again. He was also wearing a stupid generic smile and a name tag that said “Steve”. But Dean knew those hauntingly deep blue eyes better than he knew the backs of his own hands, and he knew the clerk’s real name wasn’t “Steve”.

Dean hadn’t been certain the angel had survived - he had been too concerned about Sammy to really look into it. Following the trials, Sam had been near death, clinging precariously to life like a flame near a window. Dean hadn’t spoken to Castiel, in the uproar of caring for his brother and dealing with the nearly (but not quite) cured King of Hell shackled in the bunker’s basement. Now, looking at that face with the piercing eyes and the shaggy dark brown hair, Dean felt like a total ass for not thinking of his friend before, although it had been easier to assume him dead, to give himself an out for not searching for the other man. Less guilt that way.

“Hello, Dean.” The other man gave him a more genuine, if weak, smile as Dean approached the checkout counter. He moved like a wild animal, tense, ready to run at the drop of a hat.

“Cas… you’re alive…” Dean whispered. “Why haven’t you called? I thought you were dead, man.”

“I did not wish to burden you,” Cas responded. His tone was flat and emotionless, his gaze fixated on the counter before him, like looking into Dean’s eyes was too frightening a prospect.

"Burden me? Cas, why would you even think that you would be a burden?" Dean’s heart ached at the thought of his friend - his best friend - feeling as if he couldn’t reach out to him for help.

"I am no longer an angel, Dean. Metatron tricked me, stole my grace. He used it to cast the angels out of heaven." The former angel sighed. "I'm just a human man now. What possible reason would make you want me around like this? I barely know how to function as a human. I no longer have my ‘mojo’, as you call it." He mimed air quotes around the word as he spoke.

"Because you're family, Cas. Angel or not, you belong with me." Dean paused a moment, and amended his statement. "You belong with us."

The two men looked at one another warily. Dean was processing the knowledge that not only was Cas alive, but he was human, and he was apparently actively avoiding the Winchester brothers. Avoiding Dean.

"Dean... I have been living here as Steve for months now. I cannot just walk away," Cas said, causing Dean to scoff.

"What could possibly be important enough to keep you here? You got a lease you're afraid of breaking or-"

"I'm going to be a father, Dean." Castiel cut him off, leaving him gaping like a fish and fumbling for words. Now, Cas raised his eyes to meet Dean’s gaze full on.

"Come again?" Dean rasped out after a moment.

"I have, inadvertently, created a human baby with a woman. Her name is Amy, and she is a fellow employee here at the station." Cas held his eyes, his lips drawn together and expression somber.

Dean stared at the other man in silence. His mouth had gone dry and he felt trapped. The pain in chest intensified and Dean thought maybe he was going to drop dead on the spot. Without another word - or any of the supplies he'd gone into the store for - Dean turned and left the gas station. He strode to the Impala, and slammed the door behind him after climbing in.

"Dude, where's the stuff?" Sam inquired, raising an eyebrow at his brother's sudden and empty-handed return. “And what’s with the attitude?”

"Cas is in there. He's working and human." Dean snapped. "He didn't call, he didn't come to us. He stayed here and got a job and knocked up some chick named Amy. And I think I’m having a heart attack.”

"You're not making any sense, Dean." Sam turned and tried unsuccessfully to look through the glass of the Gas’N’Sip, to catch a glimpse of the man in question, who he wasn’t really sure was inside.

"Shut up." The older brother growled. He started the car and pulled it out onto the road.

“Dean - “ Sam began, but Dean cut him off.

“Stow it, Dear Abby. I’m not actually having a fucking heart attack. I’m fine,” he lied. “We got work to do, the lunar cycle ain’t gonna put itself on hold ‘cause one stupid fallen angel can’t get his head out of his ass.”

Sam saw it when his brother looked in the rear view mirror, but said nothing, other than, “Man, I really could’ve used some snacks.”

* * *

Dean’s mind wasn’t in the werewolf hunt. It was an hour and a half back east at the Gas’n’Sip where he’d seen Castiel, and yeah, maybe it was a dumb idea to pursue the job after his world had been rocked like that. But damn it if he wasn’t Dean Winchester, the world’s champion at repressing emotions. That is, until he climbed into the shower after a successful, if unusually difficult, kill and fell apart.

Dean shuddered as he dragged in a breath and anchored himself with an arm against the tiled wall of the motel shower. That ache in his chest that felt like someone had taken a hook and run it through him, tugging his body toward some other destination, was still there. It was less intense, like a dull throb, but it was present. He sniffed, then heaved in another breath.

“Get it together, Winchester,” he admonished himself. It was pointless to waste tears on the other man when he didn’t know the full story. Dean Winchester didn’t just cry about things. But Cas wasn’t just a thing - he was… Dean’s best friend, the only person who knew everything about Dean and had still loved and believed in him. Dean felt cheesy even thinking the words “soul mate” but he was pretty sure the term applied, “profound bond” and all. Even if neither of them ever made any moves in the direction of a relationship, or acknowledged it to anyone but their inner minds. Heck, soul mates didn’t have to be romantic, right?

Apparently now Cas had a girlfriend and a baby on the way, so even if he wanted there to be something more than a platonic friendship between them, it wasn’t going to happen. Dean couldn't blame him - Dean wasn't worthy of Cas' love, no matter how sure he had been of it before their encounter in the Gas'N'Sip, how certain he’d been after Purgatory. Cas was human now, and it seemed he was trying to live a normal human life. Dean’s life was anything but normal, and he had never even made an attempt to express how he felt about the angel beyond his desperate declaration of “I need you” in the crypt that night so many months ago.

To top it all off, every time Sam looked at him, it was with this soft, concerned expression full of sympathy for his poor brother, who kept finding and losing his best friend. If Dean wasn’t so busy trying to keep himself from hopping in the Impala and driving full-tilt back to that gas station, he’d slap that look off of Sam’s face.

“Dean?” Sam called his name from the other side of the bathroom door. “You alright in there?”

“Yeah, Sammy, be right out!” Dean had lost track of the time he had been standing under the water. He hurried to wash his hair and body, before turning off the now-lukewarm water and climbing out of the shower.

He looked in the mirror, noting how red his eyes were. Sam would know he had been crying, but generally the two of them ignored it whenever such a thing occurred. Dean wasn’t sure Sam would choose to do so this time, but he sure as hell hoped he did.

When he walked out into the main room, Sam was on his computer, as usual. “Thought you’d died in the shower again,” he said without turning his head. Dean smacked the back of it.

“I’m fine,” he countered. “Was just relaxing.”

“Whatever you do in the shower, I know I don’t want to hear about it,” Sam laughed.

“Dude, we just had a rough hunt, I just wanted to get that shit off of me and clear my head,” he scolded, dropping onto his back on one of the musty motel beds and staring up at the water-stained ceiling tiles.

“You mean clear your head because that was a less-than-stellar hunt, or cause we ran into Cas this morning?” Sam prodded, earning a growl in response. Sam laughed and continued to type, not bothering to look at his brother, and Dean decided it was absolutely time for some whiskey. Thankfully, he had just picked up a new bottle and didn’t need to don more clothing than his boxers and t-shirt to acquire it. He simply rolled over, dragged his bag up off of the floor, and dug out the magic elixir.

“Seems kind of a waste, clearing your head in the shower just to drink yourself into a stupor, doesn’t it?” Sam commented from the other bed.

“Shut up,” was the only response he got as Dean cracked open the bottle and took a generous drink.

* * *

 

Over the next few months Dean worked to put the former angel out of his mind. When a job took him near where they had come across Cas, he studiously avoided the little town. Sam said nothing, except to cast a worried glance in his direction. Dean was stoic in his refusal to talk about his feelings and Sam wasn’t usually up to the challenge of breaking him down when it came to discussing emotions.  

It was a surprise to Dean, then, when Sam told him one day that he thought he should visit Castiel. They were on a short break from hunting, resting in the bunker, when it happened.

"What was that?" Dean growled at his brother, his eyes wide and head whipping around so fast that he looked like something out of The Exorcist.

"Don't play dumb, Dean. We both know you heard me." Sam sat down across from him at one of the lengthy library tables and took a drink of his coffee. Dean eyed him warily before responding.

"Okay, I'll bite. What in the world brought this on?"

"Ever since you ran into him you've been off." Sam said simply. "I think if you took the time to stop by and really talk to him, you'd feel better. We’re not on a case right now, so there’s no time like the present.”

"I feel fine," Dean responded.

"You aren't fooling anyone, Dean." Sam leaned back in his chair. "You’re miserable, you have been since we ran into him."

"Miserable? No. I'm angry that he didn't come to us for help. I'm worried that he has no idea how to function as a normal human. But he chose to stay there and continue his fabricated life, so be it. I'm far from miserable.”

Sam gave him a patented Sam Winchester-style bitch face. Dean thought it might be a new model, and decided to deem it the “let’s talk about the angel” face. He hated it immediately. Then again, he hated all of Sam’s bitch faces.

"You're angry because you don't think anyone can look out for Cas the way you do. You miss him. You've been drinking again, and you're acting just like you did after Purgatory. Not to mention the constant string of one-night stands. It’s out of hand, even for you.”

"Dude!" Dean stood up and shoved his chair violently back from the table. "What’s my sex life gotta do with Cas?”

"I don't know, Dean - you tell me," Sam replied. "Every time Cas disappears, you drown yourself in alcohol and you throw yourself at anything that breathes and walks on two legs.”

Dean's breath caught, and he glared at his brother. Dean knew why he acted this way, but he didn't want to discuss it with his brother, who apparently had ovaries. Dean didn't discuss feelings, especially not his less-than-platonic feelings for his fallen angel of a best friend. His male best friend. With his brother. Who definitely had ovaries.

"How exactly do you think me seeing Cas is going to help any of this? He doesn't want this life. He made his choice, and he made that clear to me,” Dean responded, hovering on the thin line between standing in place to finish this conversation and making a beeline for his bedroom.

"He's still our friend, Dean..." Sam was practically pleading now, the puppy dog eyes out in full force. “And if he really has a girl there who is pregnant… who’s to say that the angels won’t want to take advantage of that?”

The last part brought Dean up short. He hadn’t considered that possibility. He hadn’t stopped to think about Cas’ safety, being too hung up on his pending fatherhood. He certainly hadn’t thought about the girl’s safety, this mysterious Amy.

“Fine. I’ll call him,but not because I want to - I’m still pissed. I just want to make sure everything is okay,” Dean conceded, pointing a finger in his brother’s direction. “But I’m just calling him. No stopping by, no friendly chit chats over coffee or some shit.”


	2. Chapter 2

Of course they would end up meeting up for coffee, because that was the story of Dean Winchester’s life - doing exactly what he didn’t want to do. His phone call to Cas had ended with him agreeing to not only see Cas, but to meet the blessed mom-to-be, Amy, at the same time. Sam was practically bursting with excitement over the whole thing and invited himself along. God forbid Sam Winchester miss this.

Dean spotted Castiel as soon as they entered the diner, sitting beside an obviously pregnant woman who was smiling and laughing. The girl had short, red-blonde hair and a smattering of freckles across her nose. Dean could see that she had a small gap between her front teeth when she smiled, and a pair of swallow tattoos underneath her collar bones, visible beyond the neckline of her v-neck shirt.

"That must be Amy," Sam said, stopping short and brushing some of his long hair behind his ear with one hand.

"Thank you, captain obvious," Dean snapped back, before making his way to the booth and sliding in across from Castiel.

"Hello, Dean," Cas greeted. Dean nodded at him in response, eyeing Amy warily. "Hello, Sam," he added, as the younger Winchester brother plunked himself into the booth beside Dean.

"Hey, Ca-- Steve," Sam replied, catching himself before he said the wrong name. Cas had stressed the importance of keeping up appearances around Amy when they’d spoken with him.

"Amy, this is Dean and Sam. They are the closest thing I have to family," Cas introduced. Amy grinned at each of them in turn, her gaze lingering on Dean momentarily before flicking back to Sam, who was seated across from her.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Amy said, reaching a hand across the table to each of them to shake firmly. Dean noticed that the other hand rested protectively on the swell of her stomach, which touched the table in front of her.

"Dean, Sam, this is my friend, Amy, who is to be the mother of my child," Cas continued after Amy had shaken both of their hands.

"So, Amy, how far along are you? When is the baby due?" Sam asked companionably. The short woman leaned a bit into Castiel, and Sam resisted the urge to glance at Dean and gauge his reaction to her open affection toward the dark-haired man.

"I am just about halfway, now. We find out the baby's sex next week," she replied. Dean did some mental math, dating back five months to figure out how soon after the angels fell that Cas had gotten Amy pregnant.

"So that means you're due in what, March?" Dean spoke up, once he had done the math in the other direction.

"Yes," Cas replied, looking at Dean with an expression more somber than he would expect from a soon-to-be new father.

"Well, good for you guys!" Sam sounded genuinely happy. Dean and Cas continued to stare at one another, and Sam cleared his throat loudly to interrupt them. "Are you guys hoping for a boy or a girl?"

"I'd love a little girl to spoil and dress up. But I don't think Steve cares, do you?" Amy said, touching Cas' arm gingerly. Cas tore his eyes away from Dean and smiled at the woman beside him.

"As long as the baby is healthy, I don't have a preference," Castiel answered her. “Both genders are equally as wonderful.”

A waitress stopped by the table to take their orders, and exclaim over how big Amy had grown since she last saw her, and then moved away. It was obvious the young woman was well known and generally liked within the small town where Dean was sitting now.

"If you'll excuse me, this pregnant lady has to pee, again," Amy said with a laugh. She got up from the table and headed toward the restroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Dean leaned toward Castiel.

"Ok, Cas - how much does the girlfriend know?" He asked. Cas drew his eyebrows together, squinting at the other man in that way he always had when he didn’t quite understand something.

"She is not my girlfriend, Dean. We did not work romantically. And she knows nothing. To her, I am a human man named Steve, estranged from his family. It’s not all that inaccurate, actually." Cas replied, looking at the brothers sadly. "With that said, I am quite concerned about protecting Amy and our child from my family, and others who might wish to harm them."

"Which is pretty much everything supernatural," Sam quipped. Cas and Dean both nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so what can we do to keep you guys safe?" Dean asked. He smiled and took the cup of coffee that the diner waitress offered him with a grin of her own, before turning back to the former angel.

"Amy lives with her grandmother in an old farmhouse outside of town. I don't live with them, of course, so that helps. But we need to ward the house, I think," Cas commented, accepting his own cup of coffee with a murmured thank you.

"That's definitely a good start," Sam said.

“And how are we going to do that, without tipping baby mama and granny off?” Dean questioned. He watched the restroom warily, waiting for the woman to re-emerge.

“The house is old. Perhaps you and Sam could help me update the house, to make it safe for the baby? I believe people call this ‘baby-proofing’,” Cas tilted his head as he said this, looking uncertain as to whether or not he had used the correct terminology. Sam looked at Dean, who shrugged.

“That’s actually a really good idea,” Sam agreed. “We can hide the wards in the renovations. Put a devil’s trap under the carpet. That sort of thing.”

“Here comes Amy,” Dean noted. The short woman - Dean guessed she couldn’t be more than five foot three - made her way back to them and flashed another gap-toothed grin. Dean hated that he found the grin endearing. He didn’t want to like Amy, but Cas obviously trusted and loved her, and that had to mean something. Cas might not have the best judgement but he always saw the good in people whenever possible.

“What were you boys talking about while I was gone, hmm?” She slid into the booth beside Cas and immediately began drinking out of her water glass. “I’ve never been so simultaneously thirsty and terrified of drinking at the same time! This little nugget must be right on top of my bladder.”

“Amy, we think it might be a good idea if Sam and Dean accompanied us to Nana’s place, to take a look at things and perhaps make some improvements before the baby comes,” Castiel informed her. “Nana has expressed some concern over how safe the house is for the baby.”

“You guys do construction?” Amy asked, and Sam gave her his most winning smile.

“Nah. We just know how to do a little bit of a lot of different things,” he told her. “You know, ‘jack of all trades, master of none.’ But Dean here did work in construction for a bit, and we will do whatever we can to help out you and Steve.”

Dean winced at the mention of his time with Lisa while Sam was stuck in hell, but brushed it off in order to nod and smile at the woman in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “Definitely. We can start whenever.”

Amy bounced a bit in her seat, excited at the prospect. “Great! It’s about time we started getting ready for the little one, anyway.”

 

* * *

 

Dean didn’t want to like Amy. There was a part of him - a fierce and irrational part - that told him he shouldn’t like her. She had taken advantage of his best friend, his untouchable, unattainable angel, and now she was carrying around his not-quite-an-angel baby made up of half of a dead man’s DNA. Fucked up. He didn’t care that Cas had probably consented wholeheartedly to their liaison - as far as Dean was concerned, Amy had used Cas’ fragile, newly fallen state to her advantage.

He also didn’t know what to make of Castiel’s declaration that Amy was not his girlfriend, and that they “hadn’t worked romantically”. For two people who weren’t in a relationship, Amy and Cas seemed very free and comfortable with the soft touches and meaningful gazes. Dean didn’t like it.

But he did like Amy. He couldn’t help it. Cas seemed to genuinely care for her, as much as Dean hated to admit it, and she was joyful and optimistic in a way that was foreign to the Winchesters. Sam had sighed one night after a long day of “renovation” at Nana’s old farmhouse, and confided to Dean that Amy reminded him a little of Jess when they had first met. It only made Dean like the woman more, because to Sam, Jessica Moore was the epitome of a good woman, and he would never say such a thing lightly.

And if Amy wasn’t likable enough on her own, the addition of her grandmother into the equation tipped the scales heavily in her favor. Eugena Jane Warner, known throughout the area as Nana, was a pillar in the community. She and her husband, Joseph, had lived on the old farm outside of town since they were first married in their early 20s. When Joseph died almost two decades before, Eugena sold off most of the land and went to work as a waitress part-time to support Amy, who moved in with them when she was 15.

Nana was short and white haired and had more attitude than one of Sam’s bitch faces. Sam and Dean, whose experiences with their own grandparents were far from ordinary - and not always friendly - fell in love with her instantly.

“Boys, sit down, sit down,” Nana was a flurry of excitement that day, preparing an old-fashioned farm meal in celebration of the news that Amy was carrying a baby boy, who was perfectly healthy and growing well. Dean was happy to note that there was a pie cooling in the window of the kitchen. Nana didn’t need any more brownie points in Dean’s book, but a pie never hurt.

“C’mon Nana, we’re just finishing up this last coat of paint, we can’t stop now!” Dean argued playfully.

“Come sit!” Nana commanded. “The paint will wait. The food will get cold.”

Dean couldn’t argue with her logic, and he set his paintbrush down. Sam was already in the kitchen, helping the woman carry out platters and bowls full of food, and Cas was helping Amy get settled at the table. Dean sat down beside Cas, taking in the array of foods Nana had prepared - mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, creamed corn, biscuits. And of course, there was the pie.

“A man could get used to this,” he commented to no one in particular.

“Dean’s right, you’re spoiling us, Nana,” Sam agreed. The old woman smiled, waving her hands as if to dismiss the comments.

“I am happy to do it! You’re both helping us so much. I don’t know what Amy and I would do if you hadn’t come along to do these repairs. Steve here isn’t very handy, although he doesn’t lack for effort!”

Cas grinned at that, that rare full smile that brought wrinkles to the corners of his eyes and showed his gums, and Dean felt his chest tighten.

“Steve is really more of an academic,” Dean managed to say. Sam mumbled some agreement over the food in his mouth, and Amy laughed. It was so incredibly normal that it stopped Dean’s thoughts in their tracks for just a moment. No wonder Cas hadn’t wanted to leave this. It was all so typical Americana, and for the first time since that day in the Gas-N-Sip, Dean understood why Castiel, former warrior angel of the Lord who had died more than once and has had his life turned upside down, felt at home in this peaceful, love-filled home. Dean would have been lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit jealous.

* * *

 

As they tended to do, Dean and Sam quickly adopted Nana and Amy, continuing to visit long after the renovations had been completed. There were now salt lines buried in the wood of the windowsills, demon traps under the carpeting, angel warding covered with wallpaper, and a multitude of other precautions to keep Castiel’s new little family safe.

Dean soon found himself helping Cas assemble a dark brown crib to place in the powder blue nursery they had painted the previous week, without a doubt the most heavily warded room in the home.

“I wasn’t lying when I said you weren’t very handy,” Dean mumbled as Cas dropped the screw he was trying to drive into the wood into the carpet yet again. He had lost count of the number of times it had happened.

“I am a millenias old celestial being, Dean. Constructing an infant container is not beyond me,” Cas hissed in response, keeping his voice low so no one would overhear.

“Crib, Cas. Crib.” Dean corrected for the thousandth time as he came around to the side Castiel was standing on. “Infant container sounds like you’re putting the baby in a damn plastic tote. Now gimme that screw.” Castiel deposited the screws into Dean’s outstretched hand, and crossed his arms with a huff. “If you’re gonna be pissy, you can go help Sam install the gate on the stairs,” Dean warned. Cas muttered inaudibly under his breath, but remained in the room, staring at an airplane decal on the wall. “So how’s Amy feeling? How much longer now?”

“She is doing well. She is uncomfortable but I imagine that is normal for pregnant women. She is just into her third trimester now, about 28 weeks. She has approximately three months to go,” the former angel responded.

Dean finished tightening the screw and stood back to admire his work. The crib was not complete - he still had to attach the mattress platform and mobile - but it was already looking nice, no thanks to Cas. Dean elbowed the other man in the ribs.

“Well, the little guy is going to sleep well, Uncle Dean will see to that,” he said with a grin.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Cas responded, his tone sarcastic. Dean smacked him in the back of the head.

“You know, sometimes I miss the Castiel who didn’t know how to be a little shit,” he mocked.

“I’d say I sometimes miss the Dean Winchester who showed that Castiel some respect, but you never had any,” the former angel retorted with a grin. That smile caused Dean to feel like the air was being sucked from the room, and he cleared his throat, looking away from the other man.

Dean had tried to push down his feelings for the other man more than ever since he began interacting with Amy and her grandmother on a routine basis. The little family Cas had found for himself was pleasant and he seemed genuinely happy. Dean wasn’t selfish enough to wish for it to fracture so he could have the other man. But that didn’t mean his own longings were suddenly gone, and he was fighting hard to keep them in check.

“Alright buddy, c’mon, I’m gonna need your help to get this mattress platform on. It’s a two-person job, and I don’t think you can mess holding the other end up.” He said, motioning to the black metal piece leaning against the wall.

Cas brought it over to him, and Dean positioned the piece where he needed it. “Hold it steady right there,” he instructed the other man. Once everything was in place, he placed the screw into the holes and began rotating the allen wrench.

“Now, this part is adjustable. In the beginning he’ll need to sleep at the top level like this, but as he learns to roll and stand up, it needs to be lowered,” Dean explained. Cas rolled his eyes.

“I can Google too, Dean,” he replied. Dean chucked the allen wrench at him and the two men laughed. No matter what, Dean was just happy to have Castiel back in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks later, Dean and Sam were enjoying some much-needed down time in the bunker when they received a call from a frantic Castiel. As soon as Dean heard the words “Amy”, “hospital”, and “accident”, he was in the Impala and pulling out of the bunker almost before Sam could throw himself into the passenger seat.

Cas was pacing the waiting room when Dean and Sam arrived at the hospital several hours later. He looked exhausted, worried, and pale. Dean hated to see him like this, so human, so hurt. He knew Cas was beating himself up, wishing for just a touch of his angelic grace so he could make everything better.

“Dean,” he whispered as the Winchester brothers made their way to him.

“Cas, what’s going on?” Sam asked. Cas shook his head, and looked at his feet before responding.

“Amy was in an accident. Rear ended by a car, which spun her into the path of an oncoming vehicle. She’s in surgery, still. It was bad, they don’t know if she’ll survive, she had major head trauma…”

“And the baby?” Dean inquired. He had come to adore Amy, over the past couple of months, but the child in her womb was his main concern, selfish as it seemed even in his own mind.

“They took him by cesarean.” Cas looked up then, tears in his eyes. “He’s in the NICU. They’ve stabilized him, at least.”

Dean stepped forward then, closing the distance between himself and Castiel as his stomach knotted uncomfortably. He wrapped the other man tightly in his arms, allowing Cas to tip his head onto his shoulder as tears streamed down his face.

“It’ll be okay, man,” Dean whispered, looking over Cas’ mop of dark hair at his brother, who was watching them with obvious sadness.

“He still had 10 weeks until he was due,” Cas murmured against the fabric of Dean’s jacket, and Dean absently patted his back. Sam made his way to their side and he pulled the other two men into his own massive arm span.

“Now, boys, can an old woman get in on this hugfest?” came a voice from behind the group. The men separated, Cas wiping tears from his cheeks, as they turned to see the amiable smile of Amy’s grandmother behind them.

“Of course, Nana,” Cas replied, embracing the woman warmly. Sam and Dean followed suit, their fondness for the woman radiating through each of them.

“You’re very lucky to have such good friends, Steve,” Nana said as she patted Castiel’s cheek warmly. “These things are always easier to take with those we love nearby. Stay together, boys. Amy would like that,” The elderly woman then turned and shuffled off to one of the hard waiting room seats.  

“Nana seems to be holding up okay,” Dean noted after she had left.

“She is a strong woman,” Cas agreed, looking over at the elderly woman, who had taken a book out of her bag and started to read. “Stronger than I am, I’m afraid. I can’t lose them both. What will I do if she doesn’t make it? What if she makes it, and he doesn’t? How will I explain that to her?”

“He’ll be just fine, Cas.” Sam assured him. “Thirty weeks is still good, better than if this had happened just a few weeks ago. He should  be able to breathe on his own soon, and go home in a month or two.” Dean nodded, knowing Sam had Googled survival rates for premature babies on their drive.

“He is a Winchester after all,” Dean agreed, which caused a grin to break out on Cas’ face. Dean’s chest lightened a bit at the sight of his friend’s jubilant smile. He hated that broken look on Castiel’s face.

“Really?” He croaked, and Dean nodded.

“Of course. You both are.”

And there it was again, that grin that lit up Castiel’s face, caused crow’s feet to appear at the corners of his eyes and made his blue eyes, still wet with tears, light up. “Joseph Robert Winchester - I like it,” he said. And Dean had to grin at that.

“Have you seen him yet?” Sam asked.

“No, it will be some time before I am able to. He is stable but they want to make sure he is unharmed from the accident,” Cas responded. “It is frightening. Without Amy, I would be responsible for everything.”

“She’ll pull through, man,” Dean murmured. He didn’t believe what he was saying, not really, but he had to stay positive for Cas. Cas was all that mattered in that moment, although Dean supposed he should start shifting his world view to include Cas’ son in that small group of people he would give his life for, now. “And you’ve got me. And Sammy.”

“I do not wish to burden you. This was my mistake. A baby is life changing.” Cas wrung his hands, looking at his feet as he spoke.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t ever call that baby in there a mistake,” Dean corrected. “We’ve all fucked up, but as far as our screw ups go, this is pretty freaking minor. Stop saying you’re a burden.”

“Dean’s right, Cas. So you are a dad - good for you! At least one of us gets to have something normal,” Sam agreed.

“Thank you,” Cas said with a sad smile. Dean slapped him on the shoulder, and held himself back from embracing him again.

* * *

 

Dean watched as Cas shakily struggled into the scrubs he was required to wear in order to see the baby. After 24 hours in the NICU, the neonatologist had given the green light for Cas to see his son, and although 30 weeks did not always warrant scrubs and other such protocol, for now they weren’t taking any chances although the newborn was doing remarkably well. His friend was thrilled, but visibly nervous, and had asked Dean to help him get ready. Dean wouldn’t be allowed into the NICU at this time but he would be able to see Cas and Joey - as he had dubbed the newborn - through the glass.

“Those go on your shoes,” Dean told him, pointing at the bootie Cas was staring at with his head tilted to the side, his eyes squinted in trademark confused-Castiel fashion.

“Thank you,” he murmured, slipping a bootie over one of his well worn Converse sneakers.

“Take a deep breath, buddy. You’re going to love this, I promise,” Dean advised. “You just need to calm down.”

“What…. what if I hurt him?” Castiel worried aloud, looking up at Dean in a way that made Dean’s chest feel tight and his stomach ache.

“You won’t. You’ll see.” Dean assured him, although he had no first-hand experience when it came to newborns. “He’s your son. You’ll know what to do. And I’ll be right through the window for moral support. Now go on, go meet him.”

Cas left the changing room and headed into the NICU unit, Dean following behind him until he got to the door. He watched as Cas wrung his hands and was guided along by a nurse to one of the units. Cas’ eyes flicked up just once to meet Dean’s, and then he licked his lips and gazed down at his son.

Dean’s pulse quickened and he wiped his palms on his jeans nervously as he watched Cas reach into the unit and touch his son for the first time. The expression on his friend’s face was one Dean didn’t know existed, one of pure love and tenderness, and he felt a pang of heartache. Jealousy that he didn’t get to have such normal things, that he would likely never look down at a newborn of his own and feel such devotion. Maybe - although he wouldn’t admit it aloud - a bit of frustration that he couldn’t be by Cas’ side in that moment, although he understood why the hospital wouldn’t allow it.

“I wonder who he looks like,” Sam said, startling Dean out his reverie as he came up behind him.

“Hmm, guess Daddy Cas will have to tell us when he comes out,” Dean responded. He turned to his brother and gave him a playful grin. “Come look at him, I’ve never seen Cas look like this.”

Sam came around and looked through the glass. The former angel was now leaning over the unit, smiling down at the newborn inside of it, one of his hands inside of the unit, rubbing one of his son’s tiny hands. His face lacked all trace of the hard, weary exterior that it so often showed, making him look less like Castiel, angel-of-the-lord, and more like Cas, daddy to one Joseph Robert Warner (Winchester).

“He looks like a natural,” Sam remarked, a smile breaking across his face. “I hope he remembered his cell phone so he can take a photo.”

“I’m pretty sure the nurses will see to that,” Dean replied. “They promised me they’d take pictures.”

“Of course you asked,” Sam said with a fake, and over-exaggerated, sigh.

"Dude, that's our nephew. Of course I asked." Dean grinned as the nurses motioned him and Sam down the glass, closer to where Castiel was standing with Joey in his arms. “C’mon, let’s go take a closer look.”

The two men made their way down the hallway, stopping on the opposite side of the window from the former angel and his newborn child. The baby was smaller than any infant Dean had ever seen. Cas had informed them that Joey had been perfectly on-par with a 30-weeks-developed child, weighing in at 3 pounds, 1 ounce, and just a little over a foot and a half long. He was breathing well on his own but still had tubes assisting with that, as well as supplying him with nutrients and monitoring his vital signs.

“He’s so tiny,” Sam whispered. Cas looked over at them, his face still beaming.

“He’s perfect,” Dean replied. He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Joey, or Cas.

* * *

 

Their lives took on a sort of strange, hazy routine at that point. The three men had booked rooms at an extended-stay motel, a double for Sam and Dean next door to a single for Cas. Each day they traveled to the hospital to check in on Amy and Joey. Nana had gone home to care for the chickens, plants, and barn cats, but she returned each weekend to sit by Amy’s bedside and read to her from some of the young woman’s favorite books.

After a couple of weeks, however, they were surprised to find Nana sitting in the waiting room in the middle of the week, two strange people sitting with her. The woman had the same red-gold hair as Amy, her eyes hazel, and her expression stern. The man was balding, and wore thick black glasses and a nicely trimmed goatee.

“Boys! Good morning! Look who got in last night!” Nana said. “This is my daughter, Anne - Amy’s mother - and her husband, David, Amy’s stepfather.”

Dean can feel Castiel stiffen beside him, and knows from conversations with both him and Amy that this man in front of them was the reason Amy had left home and gone to live with Nana when she was a teenager. Her father had died some years before, leaving her with no other option when she had made the decision to escape from her tumultuous home life.

Nana gave them a knowing look, and shook her head just a fraction. It was obvious she knew what Cas was feeling at the unexpected presence of these two people, about whom Amy had almost nothing positive to say. Her cheerfulness seemed painfully forced as she continued to speak.

“Anne, David, this is Steve, the baby’s father and Amy’s good friend. And his friends, Dean and Sam. They helped us baby proof the house, and have been so supportive of us over the past few weeks,” Nana said.

It’s Dean who gives Cas a small shove forward to shake Anne and David’s hands. Cas is polite, if a bit curt, and Dean apologizes for him as he follows. “Please don’t mind Steve. He’s wracked with worry about Amy, and the baby. This is all just such a shock for him,” Dean tells them. Anne smiles politely and nods, but David hardly acknowledges his presence beyond shaking his hand.

“I always knew Amy would get herself into some sort of trouble,” David said offhandedly after they had finished the introductions. “Unwed, living with her grandmother, working at a gas station, and pregnant to boot.”

“Now, David - “ Nana started, but Anne cut in then.

“Don’t defend her, Mother. Please. We didn’t raise her this way.”

“Anne, now is hardly the time to belittle the girl - she is in a coma! They don’t even know if she is ever going to wake!” Nana argued. The three men exchanged an awkward glance, and Dean noticed Cas’ hands balling into fists.

“How is the baby?” David asked then.

“Joey is doing well. Gave us a little scare last week with his breathing, but he’s back on track,” Nana replied. She looked at Cas. “Steve visits every day and does the things the nurses say will help the boy develop - skin-to-skin contact and the like.”

“His name is Joseph?” Anne’s voice had softened, and Nana nodded.

“Joseph Robert Warner,” Nana answered.

“Warner?” David’s voice then. “Why not Novak? Isn’t that your last name, boy? Don’t you want to acknowledge your own son?” He turned to Cas now, and Cas’ blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Shit,” Dean breathed, watching Cas’ demeanor change from Steve the Gas’N’Sip attendant to Castiel, Angel of the Lord.

“My son’s name is none of your concern,” Cas growled in response, and fuck, Dean had to remind his body that this was not the appropriate time to get turned on. But Cas’ parental protectiveness was unexpected and the gravel of his voice was incredibly hot.

David sized Cas up then, despite being several inches shorter than the former angel, and gave a smirk. “I suppose you’re right, none of this is any of my concern. I only came so Anne could see her wayward child.”

By this point, Cas was positively vibrating with anger. Dean stepped forward and took hold of his upper arm. “C’mon Steve let’s go see how Joey is doing,” he hissed, tugging him away from David, who was sneering at him. Cas struggled a bit, but finally shakes Dean’s arm off and strides away toward the elevator lobby. Sam falls into step beside Dean.

“Dude, what the hell?” He asks.

“Cas told me Amy’s stepfather - that douchebag back there - was the reason she ended up with Nana,” Dean confided in his brother, as they hurried to catch up with the enraged former angel. “Apparently he’s both verbally and emotionally abusive. Maybe more, but Amy never said for sure.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Sam snorted.

When they make it to the lobby, they find Cas leaning against a wall, hands on his knees and gasping for air. Dean immediately goes to his side, worry piercing his chest. “Hey, hey, Cas, look at me. Sam, get over here, I think he’s having a panic attack!”

The two men helped Cas over to a chair, instructing him to breath slowly and assuring him that everything was okay. When he was settled, Sam went to find some water, while Dean rubbed soothing circles between Cas’ shoulderblades.

“Cas, settle down. You’re ok, everything is ok. Don’t let that asshole get to you,” Dean murmured from the seat beside the other man. Cas’ breathing had slowed, but he was still shaking.

"There is something evil about that man, Dean," Cas managed after his breathing had slowed. Dean let his hand linger on the other man's back. "He will hurt the baby. Dean, he can't be allowed to get near him."

"Settle down Cas, he won't touch Joey. No one can touch him but you and Amy. David won't have a chance."

Sam emerged from the hallway with a tiny paper cup filled with lukewarm water, which Castiel took gratefully. "You ok, man?" Cas nodded, and Sam sat down in the chair across from him.

“I would like to stay near Joey as much as possible while Amy’s parents are here,” Cas said. He was still working to get his breathing under control, but the shaking had subsided.

“Yeah, anything you want, Cas,” Dean agreed.

“I don’t trust that man. I think he may have an ulterior motive for being here.” Cas looked up into Sam’s eyes. “Sam, would you please keep an eye on David, while Dean and I keep an eye on Joey?”

“Of course, Cas,” Sam agreed eagerly. He exchanged a glance with Dean, who looked shaken by the former angel’s sudden outburst.

“Why don’t we go see Joey? Then we can send Sam back. Won’t look as suspicious,” Dean suggested, and Cas nodded.

“Yes, that seems most sensible.”


	4. Chapter 4

Spending time with Amy’s parents was a trial, to say the least. David and Cas eyed each other with dislike and mistrust, Anne seemingly oblivious or choosing to ignore the tension. Nana attempted to keep the peace, but Dean could see how worried she was. Something was definitely “off” about David, and Nana obviously had a strained relationship with her daughter and son-in-law, even without David’s prickly personality.

They tried to keep at least one of the three of them around the strange man at all times, usually Sam. Cas preferred to have Dean accompany him to the NICU, where they spent long hours looking through the glass of the waiting room. Or rather, where Dean spent long hours watching Cas with his son through the glass of the waiting room and feeling miserable.

His attempts to keep his feelings for Cas subdued were becoming increasingly futile, and he didn’t know how much more he could take. The other man was grieving for the mother of his child, who remained in a coma, and coping with the idea of being a single parent after only just learning how to be a human himself. Dean knew it wasn’t the right time to admit his thoughts to the other man, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep silent.

Cas took an array of photos of Joey to show to Dean, Sam, and Nana and did his best to keep his distance from Anne and David, who had decided to extend their stay after Amy’s condition took a turn for the worse.

Amy died peacefully a little more than a month after the accident. Nana and Cas were by her side, as Dean and Sam waited in the ICU waiting room with Anne and David. Both Winchesters had become attached to the woman, but neither felt it their place to be present at that moment, and Nana ordered her parents to stay out. So, the brothers sat side-by-side and waited while their best friend said goodbye to the mother of his son and became a single parent.

That night, after Cas had cried himself out, he and Dean sat side-by-side on the motel bed, legs crossed, watching some historical documentary that Dean only chose because he knew Cas would enjoy it. Sam had decided to see Nana back to her house, in light of the lack of family in the area, so the two of them had the motel room to themselves for a time.

“Dean,” Cas said quietly, after a period of near quiet. “I’d like to tell you something.”

Dean looked over at his friend. “Anything, man.”

“I wanted you to know why Amy and I didn’t work out, romantically. The real reason.” Cas shifted then, turning so that his body faced Dean. Dean could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He wasn’t sure what Cas was going to say but he could feel the weight of it, unsaid and hanging between them. “When Amy and I had sex… I, well, I called out your name during my climax.”

“Erm… what?” Dean cleared his throat and decided that turning himself toward Cas was a dangerous move, that if he did so, he was going to do something stupid. His palms were sweating now, and he rubbed them against his pants nervously.

“I am sure you noticed that Amy bore a striking resemblance to you,” Cas hadn’t moved, but Dean could feel his intense blue gaze.  

“I… guess that I did, yeah,” Dean wasn’t going to admit that he had thought about it quite often, had imagined sometimes when he was alone that it had been him, and not Amy, that had been with Cas on that drunken night. It had been the first thing Dean had noticed, once he got past the fact that she was pregnant.

“I spent most of our time together picturing you, instead of her,” Cas confessed. “That night I called her by your name. She realized then that I was in love with you.”

Dean was pretty sure he was going to wake up at any time, because no way in hell was this really happening.. “Dude, you can’t just say shit like that,” he choked out. He had spent the last several months trying his best to get over Castiel, to let go of the impossible hope he had held, and then he just drops this bomb out of nowhere.

“I need you to know this,” Cas said. “Please look at me, Dean.”

Reluctantly, Dean shifted himself toward the other man. Cas was looking at him with wide, honest eyes. They were still red and a bit puffy from his mourning, but Dean still thought he was quite possibly the most gorgeous person he had ever seen. He had thought so ever since that day in the barn when he’d walked in in a shower of sparks framed  by the ghostly shadows of his wings.

“Amy’s passing made me realize that I may never have a chance to say these things to you if I don’t say them when I can,” Castiel explained simply. And Dean couldn’t deny that he died a bit more often than the average person, and that Castiel’s assumption was probably correct. “I love you, Dean Winchester.”

The silence surrounding them in that moment was laden with electric emotion. Dean blinked, swallowed hard, shifted his hands. He looked at the television just to break Castiel’s intense gaze, and then returned his attention to the man beside him.

“How long have you been in love with me?” Dean asked.

“Since I pulled you out of hell.” Cas answered simply, like it was obvious and expected. Maybe to him it was.

Dean acted without thinking, giving in to the urge he had felt so often in these intense moments with the former angel. He pulled the other man’s lips against his own, kissing him fiercely. Yeah, that was the stupid thing Dean knew he was going to end up doing. But it must not have been so stupid, since Cas’ lips had opened against his own, allowing him to deepen the kiss, parting the other man’s lips with his tongue and delving forward.

When Cas pulled back from him, his lips were swollen and as red as his eyes. Dean wanted to see them look like that more often. Castiel was beautiful when he had been kissed hard and thorough.

“Dean.” Cas breathed the name like it was something holy.

“I’ve wanted to do that for years,” Dean confessed, pressing his forehead against his friend’s. Cas’ eyes were dark with want, his pupils dilated and his breathing rapid. He closed the distance between their lips once more, pushing Dean back onto the bed and pressing himself against him. “I thought, with Amy and the baby, that I'd never get to do it."

Dean could feel Castiel’s want now, pressing against his own thigh, and he pushed his hips up experimentally. The action caused a moan to slip from the former angel’s mouth, a moan that went straight to Dean’s own hardening dick.

Cas nipped at Dean’s lower lip and began to work his hands up underneath his undershirt. Dean was surprised at how soft the other man’s hands were on his skin. It was a sharp contrast to the feel of Cas’ ever-present stubble on his neck as the former angel nipped and sucked his way toward his collar bones.

“Take this off,” Cas growled, pulling at his shirt anxiously.

“Demanding, aren’t we?” Dean asked, not hesitating as he pulled the shirt over his head, and then proceeding to divest Castiel of his. Where their skin touched it felt like fire, and Dean wanted it to consume him completely.

He dropped his hands down to Cas’ hips and ran his fingers experimentally along the line of the other man’s blue jeans.

“You can touch me, Dean,” the former angel urged. Dean looked up at his face then, a frown replacing the hungry look of only moments earlier.

“Cas… are you sure you want to do this now? I mean, Amy just died, and - “

Dean’s question was cut off by Castiel’s mouth. “Stopping this would be the most asinine decision I’ve made in my long existence. Shut up and kiss me, Dean Winchester,” the former angel growled.

Dean obliged, kissing the other man thoroughly as his hands wandered to grasp at Castiel's ass. Cas groaned into his mouth as Dean again brought their groins together in sweet friction. Both men were shirtless, but Dean needed more. He tore open the button and fly on his jeans, and repeated the action on Cas.

“Dean,” Cas groaned as the other man’s hand brushed his erection.

“Patience is a virtue,” Dean teased.

“I have waited years, Dean Winchester,” the former angel growled, taking over the initiative and tugging off his own pants. “I will wait no longer.”

“Fuck,” was all Dean could manage as he watched Cas’ erection break free and Cas’ toned legs come into view. His throat had grone dry and he’d forgotten to finish taking his own clothing off. After years of wanting and waiting, his angel now stood before him, completely naked, his pale skin begging to be marked and kissed. Cas moved forward then, hooking his fingers in the belt loops of Dean’s jeans and tugging them down so they were both completely divested of their attire.

“Well this is every wet dream I’ve had in the past few years,” Dean joked awkwardly.

“Dean, please stop talking,” the other man scolded, moving forward to bite at the juncture of Dean’s jaw and neck. Dean moaned, pressing himself toward Cas unconsciously. Cas gripped his hips and shoved him backwards so that Dean found himself on his back, with the dark haired man hovering above him.

Dean was momentarily stunned at the sudden change in position, finding himself being dominated completely as Cas bent to suck at one of his nipples, at the same time wrapping his hand around his aching dick.

“What do you want, Dean?” Cas asked as he let out a whimper. “Tell me.”

Dean groaned and thrust his hips up, hoping for more friction from Cas’ hand. When had the angel learned to talk dirty? Not that he minded, but fuck if Dean wasn’t going to last long at this rate. He definitely hadn’t imagined himself lasting as long as some virginal 14-year-old when he had allowed himself to picture what sex with Cas might be like. Then again, he hadn’t exactly been getting any recently, despite what Sam thought. Dean whimpered, and choked out “everything.”

Cas dropped himself lower on Dean, flicking his tongue playfully against the head of his dick as he did so. “I want to taste you, Dean,” he growled.

“Anything, Cas,” Dean managed. Without any further prompting, Cas licked a stripe up Dean’s penis and wrapped his mouth around it. Dean swallowed hard, trying to stave off his orgasm. But Cas was sucking his dick, and holy shit, Dean never imagined it would actually happen. It wasn’t the best Dean had ever had - it was messy, and his teeth caught occasionally on his sensitive skin - but Amy’s grandmother had been right when she said Cas didn’t lack for effort.

Dean moaned as Cas worked him from root to tip with both hand and mouth, wondering idly if the former angel had been watching porn for pointers. Not that it mattered, it was doing the trick, more than adequately.

“Cas, ahhhhhh… I’m gonna come if you keep… okay, yeah, just do that…” He was whimpering and writhing underneath the other man, and Cas seemed to be getting the hang of things now.

It was only a few more minutes before Dean felt that familiar pool of heat in his stomach and he clutched desperately at Castiel’s thick hair, trying to hold back his desire to push the other man further down as he felt his orgasm building.

“CAS!” He shouted as the pleasure mounted and he tipped over the edge, spilling himself into the other man’s mouth. Cas sputtered as he tried to swallow down the unfamiliar liquid, and if Dean wasn’t so sated at that moment he might have thought it completely unattractive. However, Dean was still riding the afterglow of his orgasm, and the thought that it was his come the former angel was swallowing down was a complete turn on .

“Ohmah… God … Cas…Castiel...” He attempted to speak but found himself unable to form a complete thought as the other man climbed back up his body, peppering kisses along his skin.

“I love how you taste, Dean,” Cas murmured into his ear, and Dean groaned. Who said things like that? “I have imagined it many times.”

Dean could feel Cas’ erection pressing against him where he was laid out overtop of him, and Dean thrust his hips up to give him friction. Cas keened in pleasure and repeated the action in the opposite direction.

“Let me take care of you, Cas,” Dean whispered. He reached down and grasped the other man’s cock. “Want to make you feel good.”

“Yes, yes Dean, waited so long…” Cas groaned as Dean stroked his length.

“What do  you want from me, Cas?” Dean captured the other man’s lips in another kiss. “Please tell me what you want me to do.”

“I… don’t know what I like…” Cas’ eyebrows drew together and he looked down at Dean. “What do you like? Do what you like.” He leaned down to kiss Dean again, and soon found himself being flipped onto his back with Dean between his legs, his knees hooked over Dean’s shoulders.

“Do you trust me?” Dean asked, and Cas nodded.

“Yes, yes of course Dean,” he responded. Dean smiled then, and ducked his head below Cas’ field of vision. Dean’s hand snaked upwards to lightly grip Cas’ penis, the other drawing his hips upward.

“This might feel funny, Cas, but I promise you it is amazing. It’s one of my favorites,” Dean warned, before flicking his tongue out to press against the other man’s asshole. As he moved his tongue, licking at the puckered rim, he also moved his hand on Cas’ erection. The other man began to moan, and bucked his hips, urging Dean on.

Dean began to press forward more fervently now, his tongue pushing past the tight muscle to lap at Castiel’s inner walls, increasing the rhythm and pressure of his hand at the same time. Cas was shaking now, voicing his appreciation in moans and frantic grabs at Dean’s hair.

“Oh, Dean!” He whined, his hands finally taking up residence in the folds of the bedding as he jerked upwards and toppled over the precipice of his orgasm. Dean worked him through it, and then sat up.

“Well?” He asked, looking down at the other man, who was panting for air on the bed.

“We should definitely do that again,” Cas replied with the most roguish grin Dean had ever seen on his face. He decided he liked the look, and promised himself that he’d find every possible way to put that expression on the former angel’s face.

When both men had cleaned up and climbed back into bed, curled up against one another possessively, Dean asked a question.

“Where’d you come up with Joey’s name?” He murmured as he kissed Cas’ shoulder where he had left a rather large hickey. The other man smelled of sweat and sex, and it made Dean content and drowsy.

“Hmm,” Cas responded, rolling to face him. “Joseph was Amy’s grandfather’s name, which I am sure you’ve gathered. She wished to honor him, and I was fine with the suggestion. Joseph is a very ancient and noble name. Amy asked then if I had a family member whose name I desired be given as a middle name. I considered several - Gabriel, Ezekiel, Balthazar - but then realized that there was only one man who was truly worthy of the honor. Robert Singer.”

“Bobby? Why?” Dean inquired.

“Because Bobby gave a home to motherless boys and lost angels when no one else would,” he replied, kissing Dean’s hand where it was wrapped up in his own. Dean pressed himself more firmly against Cas, curling himself protectively against the angel.

“I think Bobby’d like that,” he whispered against the other man’s forehead.

“I hope so. I miss Bobby very much,” Cas noted.

“Me too.” Dean added as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Dean awoke the next morning with a shock of black hair in his face. He groaned, and rolled away, pushing his palms against his eyes and rubbing furiously. Cas grumbled and pulled the blanket further around himself as Dean’s warmth dissipated from his back.

Dean took his time stretching before he wandered into the bathroom to pee and shower. The water woke him up and energized him, and he was soon humming loudly as he washed his hair. He heard Cas come into the bathroom and wasn’t surprised when the other man slipped into the shower with him.

“What is that you’re humming?” Cas inquired, wrapping his hands around Dean’s waist and pressing himself up against his back.

“Hmm? Nothing, just humming,” Dean replied. The feeling of the other man’s skin on his back was intoxicating, and he turned so he could face him. “How are you feeling today?”

“I am not sure,” Cas replied honestly. “I have not been human long enough to fully process these emotions. I have so many. I am sad, because the mother of my child - my dear friend - is dead. I am frightened, because I am now a single parent. But I am also elated at the memory of our time together last night, and thinking of you fills me with warmth.”

Dean kissed the top of the other man’s head affectionately.

“Sounds about right,” he murmured. “But you know you got me an’ Sammy. You aren’t alone.”

“I know Dean. Thank you.” Cas then kissed Dean, thoroughly and deeply. The slam of the motel room door broke them abruptly apart.

“Dean! I’m back!” Sam’s voice rang out in the other room and Dean groaned.

“I really didn’t want him to find out about us like this,” he muttered, tipping his head forward so that his forehead rested on Cas’. Cas hugged him closer.

“Sam won’t care, Dean,” he assured the other man. “He loves you.”

“I’ve always made sure not to hook up with men with him around,” Dean explained. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

“I believe Sam knows you better than you think,” Cas whispered. “And even if he doesn’t suspect your true nature… well, he will accept you no matter what.”

There was a rapping on the door, and Sam’s voice again. “You in there, Dean?”

“Yeah Sammy - we’ll be right out!” There was no turning back now, and Dean felt strangely resolved. He didn’t want to hide this new development between himself and Castiel, not from the most important person in his life.

He heard Sam’s confused mumble of “we?”, but didn’t bother to explain further. He simply kissed the man in front of him again, and then finished washing himself. “You gonna wash up, Cas, or what?” He asked when he had finished rinsing his hair.

“Oh? I just came in to be close to you. But I suppose it would be prudent of me to do so, since I am already in here,” Castiel replied. The men maneuvered carefully so that Castiel was underneath the spray.

“Hope you don’t mind if I hang out and ogle your body while you clean up,” Dean whispered in the other man’s ear. He distracted Castiel as he washed by running his hands along his body and pinching at his nipples, sucking at his ear and kissing his neck. Finally, Cas swatted him away and told him that “ogling only means looking, Dean, not touching.”

Dean hopped out of the shower as Cas was rinsing his hair, wrapping himself in a towel and mentally preparing himself to face Sam, whom he could hear clacking away at his keyboard in the other room.

“Hey, I’m gonna go out, give Sam a heads up, you know?” Dean told the other man, who simply nodded and wished him luck.

Dean slung a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door, stepping into the cool space of the motel room without a word. Sam’s clicking stopped and he cleared his throat, giving Dean the opportunity to brace himself for the inevitable question to follow.

“So, uh, Dean - who’s in the shower now?” Sam inquired. Dean ignored him for a minute, his back turned as he slid on his boxers and jeans. The sound of the water running inside the other room was loud in the silence.

“It’s Cas,” Dean responded simply after he’d zipped and buttoned his pants. He turned to face his brother. “We, uh, worked things out.”

“Oh, you mean the whole being in love with each other thing?” Sam grinned, and Dean punched him in the shoulder.

“Something like that,” he mumbled.

“Dude, I’m happy for you. Really.” Sam stood up and before he could protest he was being wrapped up in one of Sam’s signature hugs. “You two deserve to be happy. Just don’t do it on my bed, ok?”

“We already did,” Dean whispered, wiggling his eyebrows as he did, and Sam all but threw him away from himself,

“Seriously, Dean?!” Sam yelped, and Dean doubled over in laughter. “You’re the worst!”

“Sam, we did not fornicate on your bed,” Castiel had emerged from the bathroom, and Dean’s laughter only increased.

“Cas, don’t say fornicate!” Sam shouted, his face red, and Dean finally fell over onto the bed, tears streaming down his face as he guffawed. Cas stood in the bathroom doorway, completely flustered and lost, and Sam decided it was in his best interest just to leave the room.

“I’m gonna go get us some breakfast,” he said, exiting the motel room as quickly as he could manage.

“C’mere babe,” Dean reached his hand out for Cas, who came to him still clad only in his towel. Dean pulled it off of him and took in the sight of the man standing before him, before dipping his head in to suckle at the warm skin of Cas’ scrotum.

“Dean!” Cas gasped, pleasure radiating up his spine and his penis stirring to life amidst the dark curls of his groin. Dean grinned, and continued to lave attention until his erection was standing tall. He then took him into his mouth, and Cas moaned, his hands finding their way into Dean’s damp hair. “Oh, Dean!”

Dean swirled his tongue around the head of Cas’s dick, and then wrapped his mouth around it’s length, finding an easy motion that the former angel seemed to enjoy. He brought his hand up to give additional stimulation, sliding it up and down Cas’ erection in time with his mouth. Cas’ hips began to jerk involuntarily, chasing the pleasure of Dean’s mouth. All too soon, he pulsed and released his orgasm into Dean’s throat. Dean swallowed, and then choked, coughing a bit before sitting up.

“You look wrecked - get dressed.” He instructed Cas, slapping his ass and heading back into the bathroom to gargle and brush his teeth.


	5. Chapter 5

Amy’s funeral had been pre-planned after her condition had deteriorated. There was no wake, no viewing,  just a service in celebration of her life. Dean felt out of place among the friends and family who had known the young woman well.

“How’s Cas holding up?” Sam asked from beside him, a glass of water in his hand. Castiel had decided to stay close to Nana, in case she needed anything from him. Dean shook his head.

“I can’t really tell,” he admitted. “I know he’s hurting but he doesn’t really show me.”

“Have you asked?” The two men watched as Cas hugged a well-wisher, before Dean replied.

“Do you think?” He bit out. Dean hated to talk about feelings - his, or anyone else’s. Once upon a time he had asked Castiel to talk to him, wanted him to open up, but Dean hadn’t done so this time around. The night Amy had died, there was so much truth and emotion spoken between them that Dean felt raw inside. Sharing himself wasn’t something he was good at.

“Dean, Cas is new to humanity. He can’t take all his direction from the Dean Winchester handbook of how to be emotionally stunted. You’ve gotta talk to him. He’s your - whatever,” Sam scolded.

“You can say boyfriend,” Dean told him. “And why don’t you talk to him? He’s your friend and you’re better at this touchy-feely crap.”

Sam sighed, and shuffled his weight a bit like he tended to do when he was agitated with Dean. Dean kept his eyes on the former angel across the room and didn’t acknowledge Sam’s obvious posturing.

“C’mon Dean. I know you care about Cas, more than you’ll admit. You gotta make an effort to show him, and that means you have to take an interest in his emotional well-being,” Sam chided after Dean continued to ignore him.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him,” Dean relented. “Because I care.”

And the thing was, Dean really did care. He loved Castiel, had loved him for a long time, even though it took him a while to admit it to himself. He wanted to make sure Cas was okay, wanted to protect him from the harsh realities that humanity had thrown at him, like the loss of Amy and the premature birth of Joey. But Dean had spent so much of his life avoiding the topic of emotions that it was like second nature. The thought of willingly asking Castiel how he was holding up was daunting. Not because he didn’t want to know, but because Dean already felt ragged from his own emotional rollercoaster over the last few months. Being with Cas was the only thing that helped to soothe those aches, and he didn’t want to ruin that.

“Thank you, Dean.” Sam said softly.

“Yeah, yeah. Now stop running your trap,” Dean replied. He heaved himself off of the wall he was leaning against and walked over to the wall of photos of Amy’s life. The very last one Dean had taken himself. Amy and Cas were sitting side-by-side on the couch, Cas’ hands on Amy’s stomach and a look of complete awe on his face. Amy had been smiling her radiant, gap-toothed smile and gazing at Cas with a look of pure love.

Amy had been a good friend to Castiel. Dean hated that he spent so much of their time together resenting her place in Cas’ life. In the end, Dean had ended up with the man he loved, but it was at the cost of the life of a vibrant woman who brought much needed good into the world.

“Are you alright?”

The familiar, gravelly voice accompanied a soft touch on his shoulder. Dean turned and gave a soft smile.

“Yeah, I’m ok. Just remembering how excited she was,” Dean gestured at the picture. “It’s a shame Joey will never know her.”

“Joey will know her through the stories we tell him,” Cas responded. “And he will have a life full of love.”

“How’re you doing?” Dean asked timidly, licking his lips in nervousness.

“I am fine,” Cas said with certainty. “Human grief is difficult, but I know more about what comes after death than most. It gives me comfort, the lack of uncertainty.”

“You know you can talk to me, right? I mean, we all know I suck at feelings, but if anyone knows loss, it’s me,” Dean offered. He reached for Cas’ hand and pulled him into a hug. “I’ve lost almost everyone I’ve ever cared about, including you. So, yeah, I get it.”

Cas nuzzled his head into Dean’s shoulder for a moment, and Dean breathed in his familiar scent, instantly calmed by it.

“Thank you, Dean. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you to make such an offer. I promise you, I’m okay. I have had a lot of time to come to terms with losing her,” he pulled back then and looked into Dean’s eyes, tears sparkling in his own blue ones.

“Ok, Cas. Just know I’m here, ok? If you need me?”

Cas hugged him again, and Dean let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, placing his chin atop the other man’s head and watching the room as it moved about them, like a swirl of planets around some star. Dean was determined to hold on to those few people in his life that he still had, starting with the one in his arms.

* * *

 

The day after Amy’s memorial service, Dean let Cas sleep in. The man was obviously exhausted, and when Dean woke up with a full bladder at 8:30, he decided that Cas needed his rest and let him slumber on. Dean went about his morning, taking a shower, grabbing some donuts and coffee from the little shop across the street, and then settling in to watch mindless television from the unused second bed in their room.

Cas finally stirred at around 11 a.m., his hair even more mussed than usual and his eyes heavy with sleep as he awoke. Dean had been watching a Star Trek rerun, and turned to grin at the former angel.

“Well good morning, sleeping beauty!” He teased. He was well aware of Castiel’s extreme dislike of mornings, and enjoyed teasing him when he first awoke. Cas mumbled something incomprehensible and stomped off to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with more force than was probably necessary. Dean laughed, and sank back into the pillows.

He had texted Sam to let him know that they were taking things slowly that day. Usually Cas was up with the sun and off to the hospital like a shot to visit Joey. Between that and his emotional rollercoaster following Amy’s death, it was no wonder the man was so worn out. He hoped Cas would be ok with spending a little time eating donuts, watching bad tv, and cuddling before they headed over to the hospital. He knew Anne, David, and Nana were planning to be there for a while today before Anne and David flew home, so they could afford to be a little slow this morning.

When Cas reemerged from the bathroom, he was wet from the shower but obviously in better spirits.

“There’s coffee,” Dean told him, motioning to the table.

“Thank God,” Cas mumbled.

“I don’t know what kind of donut you like so I got a bunch. I ate all the Boston Creme though,” Dean added. Cas grabbed an apple fritter and poured himself a black coffee.

“Thank you for getting breakfast Dean,” Cas sat on the foot of the bed and bit into the donut with a moan so throaty that it gave Dean an almost instant semi.

“My pleasure, man,” he said after clearing his throat. “I thought you needed an easy morning. You look pretty beat. Nana is at the hospital with Anne and David, so I figured we could hang out here for a bit, maybe miss the not-quite-so-in-laws, avoid that awkward goodbye?”

Cas nodded in agreement, too busy eating to reply vocally.

Dean stretched out on the bed, listening to his boyfriend eat and the sounds of traffic outside, wishing Cas would finish his breakfast so he could wrap him up in his arms and maybe take a late morning nap.

Dean enjoyed being in physical contact with the other man. It didn’t matter if they were fully clothed or completely naked, cuddling, holding hands, having sex - Dean craved it all. He had never known himself to be so clingy with a significant other, but this wasn’t just anyone, it was Cas.

Cas, who Dean had lost so many times. Dean was so afraid of losing him again that he constantly found himself reaching out to make sure he was still there. As soon as Cas finished his donut, he scooted himself back against the headboard beside Dean, pushing Dean back so that he could kiss him.

The two men wrapped up in one another’s arms, content to sit silently and watch the television. Cas’ head was on Dean’s shoulder, and Dean tipped his head down to kiss the top of Cas’ dark hair. Since they had started their relationship they hadn’t had much time to just be alone together, and Dean was relishing the chance  to simply hold the other man.

“You still holding up ok, man?” Dean asked after a few silent moments. Cas smiled up at him, a gentle curving of his lips.

“I am always ok when I am with you, Dean,” he responded. Dean tipped his head down and kissed Cas, deeply and full of emotion. Cas hummed happily in response and deepened the kiss, moving himself as he did so so he was straddling Dean. Their erections, covered only in the soft fabric of sweatpants, were already becoming obvious and Cas ground his pelvis down so that they brushed together. Dean moaned at that, and his hand found its way to Cas’ lower back, trying to hold the other man in place.

Dean didn’t think he would ever get enough of the sound of Cas’ breathy moans as he ground against him. The sound was like velvet, deep and rich and amazing. He slipped his hand lower, grabbing the other man’s ass underneath the fabric of his pants.

“God, Cas, you are amazing,” Dean hissed into Cas’ mouth, before delving his tongue back inside. He tasted like cinnamon and coffee and Dean wanted more. Cas continued to thrust against him, and Dean realized they were dry humping like a pair of horny teenagers. “Pants off,” he instructed.

The two divested themselves of their sweatpants, under which neither man was wearing boxers or briefs, and realigned themselves so their naked cocks rubbed together. “Much better,” Cas groaned, wrapping his hand around both of them. The added friction pushed Dean over the edge with a few quick strokes, and Cas soon followed.

They remained still for a moment, panting into one another’s mouths, before Dean looked down at their messy stomachs. “Think we need another shower,” he suggested. They untangled themselves from one another and Cas helped Dean stand up, when his phone began to ring.

“I’ll be in the shower, feel free to join me when you’re done,” Dean told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he walked by. He heard Cas answer the phone, heard his murmuring as he stepped into the shower. He no sooner had gotten himself fully immersed in the water than the bathroom door had slammed open and Cas had gasped out “It’s Joey - he’s failing.”

* * *

 

Dean was thankful for their motel’s proximity to the hospital as they sped toward it following the frantic phone call Cas received. Cas’ face was white as a sheet, his jaw clenched and hands curled into fists as the Impala squealed into the hospital lot. The vehicle had barely slowed when the former angel leapt from the passenger door and barreled inside of the building.

“Fuck, Cas - you’re gonna kill yourself!” He yelled after the other man, who disappeared behind the sliding doors of the hospital with no indication he’d even heard Dean’s shout. Dean grumbled as he swung the Impala into a parking space. He understood the other man’s worry - it was his son, after all - but Dean wasn’t sure he would survive if Cas died again. And then who would Joey have? Just an elderly grandmother and his dad’s boyfriend.

He entered the building at a fast walk, certain Cas was already at the NICU. The man probably ran up the stairs without waiting for the elevator, but Dean wasn’t about to follow suit. He was too damn old for that shit and it wasn’t like he could do anything except stand in the waiting room anyway.

By the time Dean reached the NICU, Cas was inside the unit, looking worriedly at his son.

“Oh, Dean! I’m so glad you’re here!” Nana rushed over to him from where she had been seated by the wall with Anne and David. Dean was consistently shocked by how spry the old woman was. He wrapped her up in his arms and placed a kiss atop her white hair.

“Of course, Nana. That little guy is the world,” he reassured. “Steve rushed over as soon as he got the call.”

Nana extracted herself from his hug and squeezed his hand. “Steve is so blessed to have a friend like you,” she said. Dean returned his attention then to Castiel, who was standing with his fist pressed to his mouth outside of the curtain surrounding Joey’s unit. Dean longed to wrap the other man in his arms and kiss the lines of worry from his face, but the best he could offer was a text message telling the other man that he was there for him. Then he turned his attention to locating Sam. He hadn’t been able to reach his brother about Joey’s condition, and that only added to his worry.

Sam’s phone went to voicemail again and Dean bit back a curse. This time, however, Sam returned his call soon after he had hung up.

“Sammy, where the Hell have you been?” Dean growled into his phone.

“Dude, Dean - you’ll want to hear this,” Sam replied. “I went out for a jog this morning - “

“Gross,” Dean interrupted. Sam ignored him and pressed on.

“Anyway, this lady approached me. She knew my name, and introduced herself as the angel Hannah. Hannah said she was tracking a rogue angel named Diniel, and said she believed I could lead her to him.”

“Diniel? Never heard of him,” Dean noted. Sam made a noise of agreement and spoke again.

“When I got back here, I did a little digging, and get this. Diniel is the angelic guardian of infants. Hannah says he has taken a male vessel by the name of David.”

“David, like, asshole grandpa David?” Dean had moved himself to the stairwell and winced as his voice echoed in the space.

“Hannah believes that’s him,” Sam confirmed.

“Well, shit. How soon can you guys get over here? Cas got a call a bit ago about Joey, he’s not doing so hot. You think Diniel could be behind it?” Dean ran a hand down his face and leaned back against the railing.

“We’ll be there in five,” Sam said.

* * *

 

Less than five minutes later, Dean met Sam and a dark-haired woman with a pleasant face that he introduced as Hannah downstairs in the lobby.

“Dean Winchester. I have heard a lot about you,” Hannah nodded at him.

“Can’t say the same. But we got more pressing issues,” Dean replied.

“So I have heard. If our assumption is correct, Diniel will recognize me as soon as I step foot on the floor. I believe it would be best if we found some way to get him downstairs to me before he realizes I am nearby,” Hannah suggested. “I have with me a pair of grace-binding cuffs that will keep him under control once he is with us.”

“Yeah, ok, we can make that happen,” Dean agreed without hesitation. “I think I have an idea.”

Dean and Sam headed back upstairs and instructing Hannah to wait for them near the hospital cafeteria. Dean then sent an SOS message to Castiel, asking him to meet up in the bathroom on the NICU floor while Sam went to speak with Nana, Anne, and David.

Cas didn’t seem pleased to be ripped away from his son’s bedside, and Dean felt his heart clench when he saw the other man’s face.

“I truly hope this is urgent, Dean,” Cas admonished as he locked the door behind him. Dean could see the tracks from his tears running down the other man’s lightly stubbled face and he felt his guilt double at the sight.

“Listen, Cas. Sam ran into one of your sisters, Hannah, this morning,” Dean explained in a harsh whisper. “She was following the trail of an angel named Diniel, whom she believed was inhabiting a vessel in the area. We have reason to believe that Diniel is actually possessing David, and that he may be the one causing Joey’s health to fail.”

“What? Why would he do that Dean?” Cas murmured. “That’s not what Our Father made him for.”

“I don’t know. But Hannah is downstairs and she has a pair of angel cuffs with her. She wants to speak with Diniel and has agreed to let us have a turn if we help her catch him. We’re going to invite Anne, David, and Nana to come down to grab some lunch with us. If you can head to the Impala and meet Hannah and me when we come out, we’ll go back to the motel and take care of business while Sam keeps the ladies occupied.”

“Yes, yes of course,” Castiel gave a curt nod. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Cas returned to the unit then, giving Dean time to follow Sam and the others downstairs to the cafeteria. As they stepped from the elevator on the first floor, Dean pulled David aside. “You guys go on ahead, I wanted to ask David something!” He waved his hand at the women with a smile, his voice falsely cheerful. As soon as Sam had ushered them out of site, Dean grabbed the other man’s wrist.

“Unhand me!” David snarled, pulling away. The distraction had been enough to turn him away from the other end of the hallway, where Hannah had been waiting. As the man swung his arm back from Dean’s grasp, Hannah clicked one of the angel cuffs onto it. David whirled about with wide eyes, and let out a growl when he saw the other angel’s face. “Sister. What is the meaning of this?”

“I’ve been trying to speak with you for some time now, Diniel. These cuffs are a last resort to make you more amenable to a conversation,” Hannah answered.

“C’mon, asshole. You’re coming with us,” Dean commanded, dragging him along by his free wrist, while Hannah ensured the cuff was not visible to others in the hallway. They headed toward the lobby of the hospital and out the doors into the bright sunlight where Cas was waiting, leaning against the front of the Impala.

“Castiel, you remember our brother, Diniel, the angel who serves to protect infants,” Hannah said as they approached.

“Protect? Pretty sure he was doing exactly the opposite back there,” Dean pointed out.

“Of course I was,” David - Diniel - spat back at him. “You don’t think I can sit by and let this abomination of Castiel’s live, do you? Bad enough that he has destroyed Heaven twice now, played a role in getting Michael thrown in the pit with Lucifer, gave his grace for our fall! Now he’s reproducing like a common monkey and acting like he’s innocent of sin.”

Dean had gotten behind the wheel of the Impala, and now he started the car and headed toward the motel, Cas in the passenger seat and Hannah with Diniel in the back. It was obvious that Diniel was going to be less than cooperative and they would need to take some steps to rectify that.

They managed to shuffle Diniel into Sam’s hotel room, Dean uncomfortable with the thought of him seeing Dean and Cas’ shared space, and chained his handcuffs to the head of the bed. Cas looked nervous, and Hannah intrigued, and both of their expressions pissed Dean off.

“Alright, Diniel - how’d you even know about Cas’ baby?” Dean spun the angel blade in his hand as he walked toward the captive man. “I mean, he’s kept a pretty low profile since the whole angels falling from the sky incident. Even I had no idea where he was before I stepped into that gas station.”

Diniel laughed, a horrible grating sound that made Dean want to stab him there and then. Hannah placed a placating hand on his shoulder and shook her head, keeping him in check.

“Ahh but that is the best part! It was divine intervention. I took this vessel before I had any idea about Castiel’s little nephilim spawn. Even when we went to the hospital after the accident, I was unaware that I would run into my wayward little brother. But when I did, ah, when I did it was like Father spoke to me and I knew that I had to do away with the little brat.”

Castiel’s face had gone pale at this tirade, and he growled low in his throat.

“You will not kill my son,” Cas snarled at him. “Joey is innocent of my sins. As our Father instructed in Deuteronomy - ‘The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.’”

“Don’t quote the Holy Book at me, Castiel. I know it as well as you. But Father also forbid us from procreating with the humans, don’t you recall?” Diniel sneered, seemingly unconcerned for the fact that he was shackled and sitting at the point of an angel blade.

“I am no longer an angel, Diniel. I too am a normal mortal man.” Castiel spread his arms wide. “Metatron tricked me and stole my grace. He told me to live on Earth and start a family. My son should not be sentenced to death simply because I was once an angel.”

Diniel laughed again and shook his head. “Don’t you see Castiel? This is far bigger than you. The entire host has suffered because of you. I believe it is time for you to suffer in return.”

“Ok, that’s enough. Cas has suffered more than you can imagine,” Dean cut the angel off.

“And you! Dean Winchester, the righteous man! What is it about you that encouraged such rebellion in my little brother?” Diniel spat in Dean’s face, and Dean roared with indignation, leaping forward to shove the point of the blade into the hollow of Diniel’s vessel’s throat.

“Shut your face, you son of a bitch,” Dean snarled in the man’s face. “I’m about five seconds from running this blade through your throat. I would, too, if Hannah wasn’t here.”

With one last check to make sure the captive angel was secure, the three of them shuffled to the front of the room.

“We need to get rid of that asshole,” Dean said bluntly.

“Dean, if we stab him, we will kill David. Although he is a horrible person, I doubt Anne and Nana would appreciate that.” Cas looked back at the room.

“What about the angel banishing sigil?” Dean suggested. Cas shook his head.

“That simply removes them to another plane of existence temporarily. It won’t ensure Diniel doesn’t return to harm Joey. And it’d send Hannah away too.”

“I know of a spell,” Hannah chimed in. “I will need a few basic ingredients, but it will allow us to remove Diniel forcibly from his vessel, without harming David. Nothing short of killing him will prevent him from returning to harm your child, unfortunately, but it would give you time to take appropriate measures to protect him. I'm sure you don't wish for any more angel blood on your hands.”

“What sort of ingredients do you need?” Dean asked, and Hannah rattled off a short list of things she would require, all of which Dean had in the trunk of the car.

Dean pulled Cas to himself and kissed the top of his head. “We will keep our boy safe,” he murmured, and Cas squeezed him tightly. “Let’s get started.


	6. Chapter 6

Explaining what had occurred to David was not easy. While still a bit of an asshole, he was much less arrogant than he had been with Diniel inside of him and was very apologetic to Castiel for the things he had enabled the angel to say and do. David discovered his phone was filled with frantic voice messages and texts from Anne wondering about his whereabouts, and the three men returned to the hospital as quickly as they were able.

David promised not to allow Diniel to return to him as a vessel, and he and Anne departed for the airport a few hours later. Once the angel had been evicted, Joey’s condition began to improve quickly.

The routine changed again after Amy died. Nana stopped coming to the hospital after her daughter and son-in-law left, although Cas called to give her regular updates on the baby’s progress. Sam continued to sleep in Castiel’s one-bed motel room, so that Dean and Cas could sort out their budding relationship. They continued to visit Joey each day, and Dean didn’t think he would ever tire of watching Castiel hold his son through the NICU window.

One day, about three weeks after Amy’s death, and after Joey had been declared fully recovered from his setback, Cas told Dean he wanted him to be allowed to visit Joey inside of the unit, and meet him face-to-face.

“We’ve already come so close to losing him, and you haven’t even held him yet,” Cas explained as they ate dinner together in their motel room that night. “You are two of the most important people in my life, I only have the two of you and Sam, and I know you’re going to be in Joey’s life forever. It’s time the two of you got acquainted.”

“But how is that possible?” Dean asked. “Immediate family only in the NICU, right?” He picked at the Chinese takeout on the table in front of him and watched a storm of worry cross Cas’ features.

“There is a way to remedy that. However, I know it’s going to be a bit forward of me to ask it,” the other man said after a moment of silence. He met Dean’s gaze, and spoke again. “A marriage would allow you to enter. To me, of course. A marriage to me.”

Dean managed to swallow the bite of food that threatened to choke him as Cas proposed they get married. He coughed fiercely after, and took a huge drink of his beer before responding.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit, ah, soon to be talking marriage, Cas? Don’t get me wrong, if there’s anyone I can see myself stuck with for the rest of my days, it’s you, but we’ve only just got this thing on track.”

Cas smiled softly then. “It doesn’t have to be real, Dean. You and Sam fake things all the time - ID cards, insurances, credit cards. I’m sure Charlie can help us make it look real enough for you to visit Joey, without us actually being married.”

Dean finished off his beer, and took a moment to process Cas’ idea.

“You know, that’s not half bad,” he said. “Is Steve asking me to marry him, then?”

“For the sake of his illegitimate, motherless child, yes,” Cas replied with a smile. “I need you to meet Joey.”

One quick phone call to Charlie, and 48 hours later, Dean and “Steve” were now Mr. and Mr. Winchester. Dean even managed to buy a couple of wedding bands at a local pawn shop for dirt cheap to make the whole deal seem more real. Joey’s birth certificate read “Warner”, but everyone had fallen into the habit of calling him Joseph Winchester, and Cas was happy he would now be able to request a legal name change for his child. He hadn’t felt right calling him Joseph Novak, which was the last name he had used at the Gas-N-Sip, and wanted him to grow up with the last name he deserved, given to him by the family he would grow up with.

“So, what are we going to tell the hospital, since you know, you and Amy were a thing and suddenly we’re married? I know the nurses have seen me around,” Dean asked the next morning, as they prepared to go to the hospital to change the records.

“I was thinking that we could tell them some modicum of the truth… we were estranged, the baby was an accident, we’ve reconciled and decided to get married to care for him together since Amy died,” Cas suggested. “They don’t need to know that we were not romantically involved during or prior to our estrangement.”

Dean pulled Cas by the arm toward himself, and kissed him thoroughly, pulling away only to say “God, you’re a genius”, before continuing the kiss.

“Guys, you decent?” Sam’s voice rang through the door, followed by a tentative knock.

“C’mon in, Sammy!” Dean called back, stepping away from Cas and straightening his shirt. He smiled at his brother as he came through the door.

“Good morning, Sam,” Castiel greeted, moving back toward the table to pick up his coffee. The former angel wasn’t much of a morning person, and Dean was fairly certain his blood type was going to be coffee if he kept up his current drinking habits. Still, addiction to coffee was better than popping pills and drinking, so Dean didn’t say anything.

“Well, today’s the big day!” Sam exclaimed. “I’m glad Cas manned up and popped the question.”

“Haha Sammy, you know it isn’t the real deal,” Dean replied.

“Might as well be,” the younger man muttered, and then ducked as Dean swung a lighthearted punch his way. “Anyway, I’m jealous.”

“I’m sorry, Sam. Would you prefer that I had fake-married you? I’m not sure Dean would have appreciated that.” Cas asked seriously, causing Dean to laugh uproariously.

“Nah, it’s cool man - I think I’ll pass on the marriage thing,” Sam countered with a grin. “I just want to hold the kid!” Dean slung his arm over Cas’ shoulders and smiled. He was ecstatic at the thought of holding Joey.

“Why don’t we swing by the diner and grab a good breakfast before we hit the NICU?” Sam suggested. Dean shook his head.

“No way. I’ve got a date with a baby!” He proclaimed, slinging on his jacket and grinning from one ear to the other.

****  
  


* * *

 

The NICU nurses smiled when Dean and Cas showed them their new marriage certificate and the pair of rings on their fingers. “You know, we wondered about those two,” one of the nurses, Angela, whispered to Sam as another one led Dean and Cas into the sterile area. Sam cast them a knowing look and smiled.

“You have no idea,” he responded, grinning happily at the woman, who had long blonde hair and big brown eyes, and was wearing pale pink scrubs decorated with flowers and insects. She and Sam had struck up something of a friendship over the past few weeks. “They’ve been dancing around each other for the better part of a decade.”

“It’s nice to see them both in there. Your brother always looked so sad, standing on the other side of the glass.”

“He was. The whole situation is complicated, but he has always loved that baby like it was his own,” Sam told her. “I guess now he has the chance to really be a father to Joey.”

Inside the unit, Dean was being instructed on the use of Kangaroo Care for a premature infant.

“Skin-to-skin contact is so important for them,” the nurse, Elise, explained. “It helps them regulate body temperature, and enhances your bond. Since you haven’t had the chance yet, Dean, I thought you might want to give it a try.”

Dean looked over at Cas, who smiled warmly. “Yes, Dean, please,” he said.

“Ok, I’ll give it a shot,” Dean agreed. “What d’ya need me to do?”

The curly-haired nurse helped Dean get settled into a rocking chair behind a privacy panel and had him remove his shirt. As he got situated, she removed Joey from his bed - he had recently been transitioned to a crib - and brought him to Dean, laying him on Dean’s chest and laying a blanket overtop of him.

“That’s all there is to it,” Elise said, a smile lighting up her round face. “Let me know if you need anything.” With that, she left them alone - Dean’s little makeshift family. He stared down at the infant on his chest, mesmerized by the wispy hairs on his head and the way he snuggled into his warmth. Joey had grown well since he had been born and the nurses thought he would likely be home within the next 8 weeks.

****   


“He’s amazing, Cas,” Dean breathed, looking up at the other man with tears glistening in his green eyes. “He’s so perfect.”

“Despite everything, he’s the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Cas whispered back, leaning forward to kiss his son on the top of his head.

The two men locked eyes and Dean was filled with peace and contentment. All he needed in life he had right here - Cas, staring down at him like he was a precious gem; Joey, sighing as he slumbered on his chest; and Sam, looking through the glass of the NICU and smiling.

“I’m glad you suggested this,” he told the other man, who reached over to take his hand. Dean gave it a squeeze. “I love this little guy so much already.”

* * *

 

That night, the two men had barely walked through the door of their motel room before Dean shoved Cas back against it and kissed him passionately. He had to show Castiel how much he appreciated him, how much he felt for him.

Castiel opened his mouth to allow Dean’s tongue admittance, and dug his hands into the fabric of Dean’s jacket. He pulled their bodies flush and felt the welcome pressure of Dean’s want against his own.

The two men pulled apart, gasping for air.

“Should we take this to the bed?” Dean asked, motioning with his head toward the back of the room.

Cas didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed Dean insistently backwards as he locked their lips together again. His fingers traveled up underneath Dean’s t-shirt, skimming across his skin and leaving a trail of fire in their wake, causing Dean to gasp as they ghosted across one of his dusky nipples.

“Cas,” Dean whispered against the dark-haired man’s lips. “I need you.”

The two tumbled onto the mattress, not daring to let go of one another. Emotion was thick between the two of them, brought on by the day’s events. Dean sat up to yank off his shirt and was immediately rewarded with Cas’ mouth securing itself on his nipple. Dean moaned, and arched his back to give Castiel more contact with his sensitive nub.

Cas brought himself back up to Dean’s mouth. “Why are we still wearing pants?” He mumbled, causing Dean’s dick to twitch.

The two men had done a lot of getting to know one another’s bodies since that first night, but despite some tongue and finger attention to the lower region of his backsides, penetrative hadn’t occurred. Cas wasn’t willing to push Dean, despite how much he desired it, and Dean didn’t want to rush things in this  new relationship. So, they contented themselves with frottage and hand jobs and a little bit of rim play. But the emotion running thick between them at this moment made Dean aware that he needed Cas inside of him.

The two shed their pants, in a jangle of belt buckles and a hiss of zippers. The blue jeans and boxers were unceremoniously dropped beside the bed as they were called back to each other by the force of their emotions.

“Cas, I need you,” Dean repeated.

“You’ve got me, Dean,” Cas furrowed his eyebrows and Dean bit back a laugh at the familiar look.

“I need you inside of me, Cas,” Dean decided to emphasize his point by grabbing the tube of lubricant off of the night stand. “Please.”

“Oh…. OH! You mean penetration?” The dark haired man’s blue eyes widened and Dean sighed.

“Don’t call it that. But yes. Please,” he was almost whining at this point and he hated the desperation in his voice. Cas nodded, and took to tube from Dean’s hand. “Do we need protection”

“I, uh, have my angel blade. And you have an assortment of firearms -” Cas began, and this time Dean couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Dude, I mean a condom,” Dean managed to say.

“Oh. I do not have one, but I do not believe we would need it. We are both free from sexually transmitted diseases. And of course, you cannot get pregnant,” Cas said.

“Well, they’re important,” Dean said. “Hold on a sec…” he reached for his back, in which he had tucked a box of Trojans. He pulled out a square foil and handed it to the other man. “It’ll make cleanup easier. You know how to put one on?”

This was possibly the worst possible time to be giving instructions, but Dean didn’t want Cas to be left unaware. He opened the wrapper and took out the condom itself, handing it to the other man. “You roll it down over the penis. Grip the tip of it, and then just roll it on. That’ll contain everything, make it less messy.”

Dean’s own erection had flagged during this moment of awkward education. He gave himself a few quick tugs, twisting his hand at the head just like he liked. Cas was still rock hard, his arousal unaffected by the conversation due to his lack of social qualms.

“I think I understand,” Cas said, after a trial run with the latex item. Dean pulled it off then, and tossed it to the floor. Cas gave him a questioning look.

“Changed my mind. I want the mess. Now let’s get back to the real action,” Dean growled, tugging Cas down to him and kissing him deeply as he thrust the tube of lubricant into the other man’s palm. Cas continued to suck and nibble his way down Dean’s chest, paying special attention to his sensitive nipples and the space just inside his hip bones. As he dipped down further, he took Dean’s cockhead in his mouth, using one hand to snap open the lube and messily squirting it across the fingers of his other hand.

Dean gasped as the cool gel made contact with his hole, feeling glad that he had taught Cas how to do this before now. Cas ran it gently around the rim as he laved attention on Dean’s erection. Soon, he breached the ring of muscle with just the tip of his finger. As he did so, he drew the whole of the penis into his mouth, keeping the other man’s attention focused there as he slid his finger deeper.

As he added a second finger to stretch and open Dean more thoroughly, Dean groaned.

“Are you ok?” Cas asked. Dean huffed.

“I’d be better if you’d keep going.”

Cas scissored his fingers as he continued to suck Dean off. Dean was writhing, grasping at the sheets and Castiel’s hair in rapid succession, back and forth between them.

A third finger and a fourth followed the first two, until Dean was moaning and demanding that Cas “Get the fuck on with it already.”

Cas pulled back, and took a moment to thoroughly slick his penis with lube. “Are you ready, Dean?” He whispered. Dean nodded and moaned.

“God, yes, please Castiel,” he whined.

He felt the press of Cas’ erection at his hole, and then he was stretching and filling as Cas pushed in slowly. When Cas bottomed out, the two men stared at one another in awe for the space of a few heartbeats, breathing heavily into one another’s mouths.

“I’m ok,” Dean told him, and Cas nodded, kissing him quickly before drawing back. He set a gentle rhythm, and Dean drowned in the feel of being filled with his angel, the man who had saved him so many times. Cas adjusted his angle and began to hit Dean’s prostate, sending sparks of pleasure through him, coursing up his spine and down to tingle in his toes.

“Oh, Cas, Cas, Cas,” he began to chant, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. Cas was whispering something but Dean was so wrapped up in the feeling of Cas and joy and love that he couldn’t force himself to focus on the other man’s words. Slow drags in and out began to increase in pace as Cas started to approach his own climax. He wrapped his hand back around Dean’s erection, which was weeping against his stomach, and tugged it in time to his own beat of in and out.

Soon, too soon, Dean felt the wash of pleasure and tightening of his testicles that signaled orgasm, and he spilled his warm fluid across his chest and Castiel’s. As his ass clenched around Cas, the other man cried out and released his own seed, leaning forward and putting his forehead against Dean’s, gasping for air.

“I love you, Dean,” he managed to say. Tears were now streaming openly down Dean’s cheeks and he bit his lip before replying.

“Yeah, love you too.” He murmured, wiping at his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

It was three months after the accident when Joey came home. The infant watched with intent clear blue eyes as Castiel readied his clothing. Dean grinned and gently ruffled the crop of red-blonde hair that had sprouted on Joey’s head.

“Finally headed home, baby boy,” Dean exclaimed. “Now you can wake your daddy up in the middle of the night with your squealing!”

Cas rolled his eyes and gently pulled the diaper off of Joey’s bottom.

“You’re going to take your turns too, Dean,” the former angel told him. He kissed each of Joey’s feet and deftly replaced the diaper with a clean one. Dean just smiled wider and allowed the baby to grab his index finger.

He watched as Cas contented himself with dressing their son. Dean had taken to thinking of him as such, once he realized that his relationship with Cas was real, solid, and likely forever. There was nothing in the world he wouldn’t do for Joey, or Cas. 

“Dean, I need his hand,” Cas grumped at him, trying to get Joey’s onesie on with little success. Dean wiggled his finger out of the baby’s grip and watched as Cas deftly pulled the shirt over Joey’s head. 

“Now that’s a Winchester baby if I do say so myself,” Dean said proudly, admiring the plaid onesie with a grin. Cas pulled a pair of faux denim pants onto Joey’s skinny legs, causing the baby to squirm and squawk. 

“What are you doing to my nephew in there?” Sam’s voice came from the hallway. The towering man walked in with a giant stuffed dog in his arms. “Hey Joey, look what Uncle Sammy got you! As long as you and your dad live with Papa Dean, you will never be able to have a real one!” 

“Shut up,” Dean scolded, grabbing the stuffed animal from Sam’s hands and looking at it. “It’s bigger than he is!” 

“Not for long, look how he’s grown!” Sam replied with a smile. “Probably the closest to a dog the poor kid will ever get.” 

“Uncle Sammy is just mad that I never let him have a dog. If you ask, little man, I may answer differently,” Dean told the baby, who looked at him with wide, deep blue eyes. He was certain he’d buy the moon off of Crowley if it meant making Joey happy.

“I would much rather have a cat,” Cas chimed in without looking up from his task of preparing the infant to go home. Dean laughed, and tossed the stuffed canine back at his brother.

“Why don’t we wait and let Joey choose when he’s old enough?” Dean suggested, and Cas nodded. 

“Look at you two, being all domestic,” Sam remarked with a smirk. 

“You’re just jealous, Samantha,” Dean quipped. “Hey wait, Cas, I got something else to put on him before you stuff him in that coat.” He caught one of Joey’s flapping arms and deftly tied a leather thong with a brass anti-possession symbol tied onto it around his wrist. “Just until we can get him something more permanent.” 

“Really Dean, you want to tattoo an infant?” Sam gave him a remarkably pointed bitch face and Dean responded in kind.

“No, Sam, I don’t want to tattoo an infant, I’m not an idiot,” Dean responded tartly. “Cas and I are going to find an angel who is still on Cas’ side and have them help with something a little less… obvious.” 

“Rib carvings?” Sam blanched at the thought, recalling how much it hurt when Castiel had etched his own ribs all those years ago following their run-in with Zachariah. 

“We have to keep him safe,” Castiel sad flatly. “I do not wish to do it to him, but he must be protected from the other angels, and from demonic possession. He is my son and, in all but genetics, also Dean’s son. That makes him a prize that both demons and angels would love to have, or destroy. That has already been proven. On top of that, we don't know if he has been gifted with any grace. We need to be careful."

Castiel scooped his son into his arms then, smiling down at him as he prepared to put on his jacket. 

“We plan to have the angel put him into a deep sleep before the sigils are placed,” Dean told his brother, as he helped Cas place the baby into his outerwear. 

“Okay, but how do you expect to find this angel?” Sam inquired. At that, Dean grinned. 

“We already have.” 

“Afternoon, Samsquatch!” Sam jumped and whirled, finding himself suddenly towering over the golden-eyed archangel, Gabriel. 

“H-how?” Sam managed. “You died. Lucifer killed you.” 

“C’mon, Sammy - you know me better than that! I always had an escape plan,” Gabriel winked and twirled a sucker in his mouth. “It just took me some time to find my way back from my self-imposed exile.” 

The former pagan God stepped around Sam then, and reached out toward his nephew. “Hey there, little guy. Uncle Gabe has a present for you!” He offered the infant an even bigger lollipop, which Joey made a grab for. Dean took it from the other man angrily. 

“He can’t eat that!” Dean scolded. “It’ll be years before he can have candy!” 

“Simmer down, daddy-o. I’m just having some fun with the newest member of my family. It’s not every day that angels procreate.” Gabriel grinned. “I’m just glad Cassie here had the good sense to do it with a lady, instead of knocking you up.” 

Dean’s eyes grew wide, and he opened his mouth to say something, before Cas cut in. 

“You know that is not possible, Gabriel. Don’t frighten Dean.” Castiel retorted, pulling Joey closer to himself protectively, although he knew he had nothing to fear from the man in front of them. 

“Oh, so that’s how it is,” the shorter man laughed, wiggling his eyebrows expressively. “Always thought Dean looked like he was pretty subm-” 

“Enough. I do not want to hear about Dean and Cas’ sex life,” Sam groaned. “And not in front of Joey!”

“Thank you for coming, Gabriel. We really do appreciate it. We cannot do the carvings here, obviously, but if you’d like to meet us at the bunker, we could do them as soon as we arrive home.” Cas said to his brother.

“I thought I’d ride home with you guys!” Gabriel exclaimed. “Be a lot more fun with me along!” 

“Alright, whatever. C’mon Cas, let’s get Joey in his seat,” Dean interrupted. He took the infant from Cas’ hold and kissed the top of his head as Cas readied the snap-in infant seat for the child. “Gonna take you home, little guy! Wait til you see the bunker, it’s the coolest place ever…” Dean crooned nonsense at the child before gently placing him in the seat and helping the other man strap him in. 

“Well, someone has to take Cas’ car to Kansas,” Sam pointed out as the four men gathered around the Impala. “Why don’t I do that, so you both can be with Joey?” 

“Good thinking, Sammy,” Dean agreed, and Cas handed him the keys to his Continental without a second thought. Gabe smirked then, and stood up straight from where he had been leaning against Baby’s trunk. 

“That is good thinking, Samsquatch. I call shotgun!” 

Sam groaned, but agreed to let the archangel ride along with him to give the new family some privacy. “Ok guys - see you at the bunker!” He gave both Dean and Castiel a hug and headed to Cas’ car, Gabe following on his heels. Dean smiled, and kissed the former angel. 

“C’mon - let’s get our boy home,” he whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

 

Epilogue

 

The next two years passed in a haze of happy memories for Dean. They soon discovered that Joey did in fact possess several small powers that could only be attributed to Castiel’s former angelic status: he could soothe pain, although not heal; he was intelligent beyond his years; and he could apparently smite a demon, if Gabriel was to be believed. Dean insisted that they weren’t testing out that particular ability anytime soon. Or ever.

Dean was constantly amazed by the boy, who was growing like wildfire and as rugged and courageous as the Winchester men he was surrounded by. He had charmed Gabriel, who now spent regular periods of time in the bunker, the sandy-haired toddler trailing after him and asking for candy. And his extended family of aunts and uncles - Sam, Kevin, Charlie, Jody, etc - could never say no to his piercing blue puppy dog eyes.  

When Nana died just before his second birthday, her will named him as the sole beneficiary. Her property was transformed into a hunter safe house, and Dean and Castiel regularly spent time there with Joey, to provide him with fresh air and room to run. He seemed at home in the wide open yard of the property, learning to run and squealing with joy as he explored the old barn and attempted to give both of his fathers a heart attack. The bunker was still a part of Dean’s life, but Nana’s old farmstead was becoming more and more like home, and Cas took to country life easily. As per her wishes, the men had mixed Nana’s ashes with those of her late husband and granddaughter, and they had planted a tree with them in front of the old farmhouse.

It was in the kitchen of that house that Dean plopped a thick envelope onto the table in front of Castiel one afternoon and sat down beside him.

“What is this?” Cas asked, motioning toward the package.

“I’ve been thinking,” Dean said, running his hand through his hair a bit nervously. “It’s been two years now, and if you’d be ok with it, I’d like to officially adopt Joey. I want him to be a Winchester.”

Cas was looking at him with an unreadable expression, and he fidgeted under the familiar blue gaze. His heart was thudding in his chest and his palms are sweating, and he isn’t even sure why. He and Cas had discussed this before, and he knew the other man was more than happy to allow Dean to assume legal parental responsibility for Joey. No, it was the other half of the equation that was really making him nervous, which meant it would be the part Castiel naturally honed in on.

“Are you asking me to marry you, for real this time, Dean?”

“Well, I mean, we had talked about it, erm, and with it being legal now in the entire country, I thought…” Dean stuttered. When the topic of Dean adopting Joey had come up, Cas had made a case for their marriage - the real one - beforehand. Effectively, Dean agreeing to the adoption was Dean proposing to his boyfriend, and they both knew it. Castiel grinned, his eyes squinting in joy as he laughed.

“Yes, of course Dean. To both. To marrying you, and to you adopting Joey. Yes.”

Dean surged forward then and pulled Cas into the tightest hug he could, pressing his face against the crook of Cas’ neck and shoulder, tears threatening to spill over as he did so. From somewhere in the other room, Joey spotted them hugging and ran at them, giggling and laughing as he so often did when he saw them being affectionate.

“Hugs! Dadas, hug!” He pulled at Dean’s pant leg and Dean pulled free of Castiel just long enough to hoist the boy onto his lap, before wrapping them both up in another hug.

“I love you. I love you both,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading, I hope you enjoyed my little saga! 
> 
> Thank you again to my amazing artist oragamioctopus, and to my fantastic beta, Dani M! 
> 
> :)


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